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of some gourmet hot cocoa. I had admired his broad back and shoulders at the gym many times when I thought he wasn’t looking. Now I watched him unabashedly as he filled the kettle, my mind reeling with the tale he had just told. We were here together in a secluded house overlooking the Atlantic. How much had changed in only a few hours.
    When he handed me the steaming mug, I asked, “So now what do we do?”
    Michel took a moment to answer. “Lay low,” he said. “And get to know each other better.”
    I swallowed as he sat down next to me.
    “Don’t be afraid of me,” he said. “I would never hurt you.”
    The worries about being with a nightwalker rose to the surface. “How can I be sure?” I asked. “You’re not even human.”
    “I was once. And tonight I felt more human than I had in a hundred years.”
    “When? Why?”
    “When I was with you upstairs. When I thought something would happen to you. I haven’t felt emotions like that in a long time.”
    I took a sip of the hot cocoa to try to control my racing heartbeat. Michel ran a finger softly across my cheek and lower lip, making me slightly tremble. I looked into his eyes, only inches away from mine. Those eyes that always captivated me. Was it all just part of his charm? My breath quickened.
    No, I had to focus. Think about my safety and not my libido. Too many thoughts were racing through my head.
    “I need some air.”
    I walked to the back door and opened it to a breathtaking view of the Atlantic. The winds had kicked up, causing the waves to battle against the rocks below. I tried to concentrate, to focus on rational thought.
    I peeled off the thigh-high stockings that had made my legs look sexy as hell in those stiletto boots, yet now were torn so badly I looked like an utter mess. I walked barefoot on the sand on the beach away from the house. The stupid dress was constricting, which made it difficult to pick up the pace.
    Think clearly.
    It was insane to think about getting involved with someone who wasn’t even human. Yes, I knew this. I was a practical girl, not a romantic one. Relationships were difficult as it was, let alone whatever kind of relationship you could try to form with someone who didn’t even age. Very impractical. If it was Maya in this situation, I’d tell her she was acting like a stupid, lovesick teenager.
    That would be after I didn’t believe whatever nonsense she was spewing about nocturnal creatures. They don’t exist, I’d tell her. Hell, I wouldn’t believe such beings existed until I saw three of them tonight, two of whom were trying to kill me.
    I was being hunted. Because I was with Michel. Maybe if I got away from him, I’d be safe. I quickened my pace until I got into a makeshift run the best I could. Running away from him. Running to safety.
    I’d find a phone and call Maya. Maya would find a way to get to me and we’d figure out what to do together.
     
    Michel
    I hated waiting. Hiding out here waiting for something to happen.
    And waiting in here. Waiting for her.
    I began pacing in front of the fireplace. Why did Ricard have to come tonight after all these decades, just as I connected with a woman who had made me feel more than I have in decades? Fate was mocking me. She was a twisted force with a warped sense of humor.
    I almost had Nike. I finally broke through the silent veneer she enclosed herself in when it all went to hell. The look of passion that burned in her eyes earlier when we were upstairs had been replaced by a different one, as if she was debating herself in an internal monologue. I would have told her about myself eventually, I thought, just not right away. It would scare her. I had to break it slowly, gently. But Ricard had to screw it up.
    I grabbed a trinket from the side table and crushed it in my hand, and then watched as the ceramic pieces fell through my fingers. How easily it was destroyed. I barely even thought about it. Fragile. Almost as fragile as a human.
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